Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019 - 106

33RD A N N UA L B U YI NG G UI D E

Wine & Spirits

CA N A DA
RIESLING
123539

92 | Cave Spring Cellars

$18

2017 Beamsville Bench Estate Riesling ^
Cave Spring's old vines and sheltered position at the base of the Niagara Escarpment
contributed to the success of this riesling, a
robust, firm wine from a cool, wet vintage.
While the flavors are delicate-lime zest and
pink grapefruit with a sparkly minerality-
the texture makes it mouthfilling. It has a
pithy grip that suggests this would stand up
well to meaty fish dishes; it should age well,
too. (W&S 4/19) § MGZ Associates, Clarence,
NY -T.Q.T.

GAMAY
123615

92 | 13th Street Winery

$18

2017 Niagara Peninsula Gamay ^ This drinks
like a cru Beaujolais, with a deep, rich meatiness to its tart cherry-cranberry fruit. Winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas pulls the fruit mainly
from two estate-owned vineyards, Sandstone
and Whitty, and ferments it entirely in stainless steel. With its satin texture and bright,
invigorating acidity, it's terrifically thirstquenching, especially with a light chill and
a grilled steak. (W&S 4/19) § Esber Beverage,
Canton, OH -T.Q.T.

also returned to the vinelands surrounding
his hometown of Concepción to produce his
own wines. This comes from four vineyards
in the Itata hills, all field blends focused on
cinsault. The wine sees no wood, only stainless steel and cement, allowing the spicy red
fruit to sustain its brightness. It's an honest
presentation of the Secano Interior, with the
velvet flesh of red cherries and the cool, dusty
texture of their skins. A fresh, finely made
country wine. (W&S 10/19) Skurnik Wines
& Spirits, NY -J.G.
124431

93 | P.S. Garcia

$20

2016 Valle del Itata Bravado ^ Felipe Garcia
makes this wine from two vineyards. One is
young-vine syrah; the other is carignan, grenache, mourvedre and petit verdot grafted
onto the 120-year-old roots of país vines.
He ages it in old neutral-oak casks for 18
months, and there's no indication of wood in
the wine-just fragrant, delicious fruit, along
with chewy, savory tannins. It reminded one
taster of a clearing in the forest, and the fruit
does last with a cool, foresty tone. It's a moodchanging wine, and if you've ever spent time
in Chile, or in its much more highly populated corollary, the California coast, it's sure
to make you happy. (W&S 10/19) § Vine Connections, Sausalito, CA -J.G.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

CHI L E W H I T E
SAUVIGNON BLANC
123953

92 | Matetic

$15

2017 San Antonio Valley Corralillo Sauvignon Blanc ^ The Matetic family planted their
first vines in San Antonio in 1999, farming
them under biodynamics. They have since
expanded into Casablanca, where they grow
a portion of this sauvignon to blend with
their San Antonio fruit. It's rich and concentrated, with perfumed notes of agave and
herbs woven into ripe fruit flavors of cherimoya and orange zest. Tight, spicy and long,
this is a coastal white for pan-roasted sole.
(W&S 8/19) § Quintessential, Napa, CA -J.G.

CHI L E RE D
BLENDS
124518

92 | Pedro Parra

$20

2017 Secano Interior Itata Imaginador ^
While Pedro Parra is busy transforming geology into terroir-expressive wines in Oregon,
Cahors, Tuscany and Mendoza, to name
just a few of his recent project locales, he has
106

WINE & SPIRITS

124596

91 | Casas del Toqui

$17

2018 Cachapoal Valley Barrel Series
Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon ^ A quiet, blueberry-scented cabernet with a lovely herbal
hum to the tannins, this is warm and spicy,
its flavors pure. This delivers a lot of simple
pleasure for $17. (W&S 10/19) § Via Pacifica
Imports, San Francisco, CA -J.G.

SYRAH
124139

92 | Quintay

$20

2017 Casablanca Valley Q Gran Reserva
Syrah ^ Jammy up front, with dense boysenberry and grape flavors, this opens up with

BUYING GUIDE 2020

air and takes on a more savory black-olive
and black-pepper grip. It's a meaty syrah with
some resonance in the tannins. (W&S 8/19) §
Regal Wine Imports, Moorestown, NJ -J.G.

FRANC E: C HAMPAGNE
233911

94 | Jean Vesselle

$60

94 | Larmandier-Bernier

$65

Champagne Rosé de Saignée Brut ^ The
blood-red color of this pinot noir comes
from the juice macerating with the grape
skins for up to 48 hours, before it's run off
to ferment in stainless steel without added
yeasts. What's surprising is how the color
doesn't signal the delicacy of the flavors, a
light essence of pinot noir with detailed tannins as ethereal as the fruit. That fruit is tart,
with notes of cranberries and blood oranges,
making the wine a delicious and unexpected
choice for a holiday dinner. (Disgorged
4/5/17; W&S 12/18) § North Berkeley Imports,
Berkeley, CA -J.G.
233921
Champagne Premier Cru Longitude
Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs ^ Longitude is
named for a string of parcels in the Côte des
Blancs-running north from Vertus to Oger,
Avize and Cramant-where chardonnay
grows in thin top soils and the chalk is close
to the surface. Larmandier farms his vines
with biodynamic practices and ferments his
wines without added yeasts in a mix of casks,
wooden vats and stainless steel. He includes
a portion of wine from a "perpetual reserve"
stock that he has been developing since 2004.
Tim Buzinski, who teaches wine courses at
the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde
Park, NY, described this wine as "totally
chalky," and it does take those mineral tones
to a level of complexity above the fruit, which
ghosts through the wine in flavors of fresh
pear, zesty orange and underripe peach. This
is delicious Champagne, with structure that
can handle some bottle age. (W&S 12/18) §
Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY -J.G.
233939

93 | Pierre Gimonnet & Fils $42

Champagne Premier Cru Sélection
Belles Années Brut Blanc de Blancs ^ Didier
Gimonnet focuses this wine on his premier
cru vineyards in Cuis, with 20 percent of the
blend coming from his grand cru parcels in
Cramant, Chouilly and Oger. It's a classical
Côte des Blancs Champagne, a peak expression of chardonnay grown in chalk. Bright
and youthful, with clear notes of lemon and
white flowers, this turns ornate in the end,
bringing a complex hint of aged Gruyère.
(Disgorged 4/10/15.) (W&S 12/18) § Skurnik
Wines & Spirits, NY -J.G.

http://www.casasdeltoqui.cl

Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019

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